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Drug Policy - Public Health or Criminal Justice Issue? - UBC Continuing Studies

[Courtesy of UBC Continuing Studies Series] 

If you missed this engaging series of free panel discussions facilitated by Stephen Owen, UBC Vice President, External, Legal and Community Relations, webcasts of each session are available below.

In communities across Canada, discussions are going on – public and private – about how to deal effectively with the growing problem of illicit drug use. Decisions are being made about how to educate our young people and how to allocate public money.

Vancouver has been at the centre of the drug debate since 1995. It has led the way in taking public action, researching the effect of different strategies and considering current community attitudes.

At this time of escalating concern about drug and alcohol problems, and drug-related crime, this series looks at a wide spectrum of perspectives and research – often conflicting – to consider what information is useful in guiding us as parents, co-workers and citizens.

Drug Policy

 

February 13:

Where Should Public Health End and Criminal Justice Begin?

 

To view a webcast of this session, please click here webcast.

With Larry Campbell, Canadian Senator, past Vancouver Mayor and past BC Coroner; Dr. Brian Emerson, BC Ministry of Health, medical consultant and Secretary, Health Officers Council and Inspector Scott Thompson, Vancouver Police Department, Drug Policy Unit.

 

 

February 20:

What Do We Tell the Kids?

 

To view a webcast of this session, please click here webcast.

With Dr. Rick Mathias, UBC Professor of Health Care and Epidemiology (with expertise on toxicity of drugs on the body); Sergeant Bob Hall, RCMP (responsible for drug prevention initiatives for the RCMP in BC); and Dan Reist, Director of Communication and Resource Centre, Centre for Addictions Research (developed substance abuse and mental health programs and resources for BC schools).

 

 

February 27:

How Should Public Money Be Spent?

 

To view a webcast of this session, please click here webcast.

With Philip Owen, past Vancouver Mayor and leader of the Four Pillars Approach; Stephen Easton, SFU economist and Senior Scholar at the Fraser Institute (author of The Costs of Crime: Who Pays and How Much ) and Penny Ballem, past Deputy Minister, BC Health and Health Care expert.

One in 99 American adults is in jail

[Courtesy of MPP] 

Our nation is currently incarcerating a record one in 99 adults, according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States. You can read The New York Times' article on the U.S. government’s war on the American people here.

This horrifying statistic was calculated by adding the number of people in federal and state prisons (almost 1,600,000) to the number of people in local jails (723,000). With American adults numbering about 230,000,000, the report concluded that one in 99 adults is currently behind bars.

This is madness. As previous studies have found, our nation imposes harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenses than for many violent crimes, creating a steady, unconscionable increase in the prison population. Visit www.mpp.org/victims to read stories of nonviolent marijuana prisoners.

The Pew report points to the urgent need to tax and regulate marijuana, as fully 3% of our nation’s 2,323,000 prisoners are incarcerated because of marijuana offenses. Indeed, Pew’s recommendations included diverting nonviolent offenders away from prison.

The report also highlights how the U.S. criminal justice system inordinately penalizes people who are not white. Appallingly, one in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, as are one in 15 black adults, not to mention one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34. And these numbers don’t include people on parole or probation, which means even more than one in nine black men aged 20 to 34 is caught up in the criminal justice system.

Who are our nation’s drug laws helping by locking up so many young black men — or by forcing so many adults into jails and prisons? True drug addicts? Nonviolent drug offenders? Their families?

If you're as outraged by these statistics as I am, please turn your anger into action by helping MPP restore some sense to our nation's laws by ending marijuana prohibition: Become a monthly pledger today.

MPP is the largest organization focused solely on releasing from jail/prison the 3% of inmates who are marijuana offenders. In 1995, we helped to reduce the federal sentencing guidelines for marijuana cultivation, resulting in the release of hundreds of federal prisoners. Every time we pass a medical marijuana law — as we did in Maryland, Vermont, Montana, and Rhode Island, and as we hope to do in Michigan this November — we protect seriously ill marijuana users from jail. We’re assisting a campaign in Massachusetts to decriminalize marijuana via a ballot initiative in November, which would end the arrest of marijuana users (and therefore 6% of all arrests) in the state. And we’re supporting bills that are currently moving in Vermont and New Hampshire that would eliminate the threat of jail for marijuana possession.

We face a long battle in rolling back the entrenched tradition of using incarceration as the solution to our nation’s woes. Please join MPP for the long haul by signing up for our monthly pledge program today.

Thank you for standing with us in this worthy fight.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your monthly pledge will be doubled.

U.N. Committee to Review Racial Injustice in U.S.

[Courtesy of The Sentencing Project]

Dear Friends:

Beginning today, the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will hold hearings in Geneva, Switzerland, to review racial inequities in the United States, including disparities in criminal sentencing.

The Sentencing Project submitted a report to the Committee in December in preparation for this week's hearings. The national criminal justice reform organization called upon the Committee to hold the U.S. government accountable for failing to ensure equality before the law. Notably, its report argues that the racially disparate impact of federal cocaine sentencing laws violate requirements of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), to which the U.S. is a signatory.

"The U.S. Government's harsh sentencing policy for low-level crack cocaine offenses has unfairly incarcerated a disproportionate number of African American citizens in federal prisons," said Ryan S. King, Policy Analyst at The Sentencing Project and co-author of its report to the Committee. "No other drug is punished as severely under federal law and no other law has done more to create racial disparity within federal prisons."

Under current law it takes 100 times the quantity of powder cocaine to trigger the same mandatory minimum sentence as crack cocaine. The result of this penalty differential is that the average federal crack cocaine sentence is more than three years longer than a conviction for a powder cocaine offense. This policy has had a catastrophic impact on the African American community because more than 80% of persons convicted of a federal crack cocaine offense are black, despite the fact that two-thirds of regular crack cocaine users are white or Latino. Meanwhile, only 27% of defendants convicted of powder cocaine offenses are African American.

The Committee will question representatives of the U.S. government Thursday and Friday in Geneva and offer concluding observations, including recommended reforms, in early March.

The Sentencing Project's report, Racial Disparities in Criminal Court Processing in the United States, offers input regarding the nation's compliance, and the need to reform current criminal justice practices.

It states that mandatory minimum sentencing practices, the result of 30 years of legislative policies that limit judicial discretion, have increased prosecutors' authority, greatly increased the length of imprisonment in many cases, and had a profound impact on African American and Latino communities.

Recommendations by The Sentencing Project urge that:

  • The United States government should take steps to end all mandatory sentencing practices, returning sentencing discretion to judges;
  • The United States government should amend penalties for crack cocaine to be equivalent with those for powder cocaine, at the current quantity threshold of powder cocaine; and
  • The United States government should require the preparation of racial/ethnic impact statements to be submitted in conjunction with all sentencing and corrections legislation anticipated to effect measurable change on the incarcerated population.

This week's hearings occur during a time of unprecedented momentum for federal sentencing reform. In late 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended the federal sentencing guidelines to reduce the sentence length for certain individuals convicted of a crack cocaine offense and voted unanimously to apply this reform retroactively. The U.S. Supreme Court also ruled in December that federal judges should be able to consider the impact of the 100-to-1 disparity when deciding a defendant's sentence. Finally, there are currently seven bills that have been introduced in Congress that would address federal cocaine sentencing, and the Senate and House have scheduled hearings on the issue this month.

This report to the CERD was prepared in conjunction with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is available by clicking here.

 

The Institute @ HRC [NY] Now Accepting Spring 2008 Training Proposals

[Courtesy of the Harm Reduction Coalition] Dear Friends of the Harm Reduction Coalition, This is to inform you that the Institute at the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) in New York City is currently accepting applications and training proposals for our Spring 2008 Training Calendar (April-June). If you would like to become an HRC trainer, please submit your training proposal(s) along with a resume and brief bio sketch. You may submit multiple proposals. We ask that applicants be very familiar with the types of trainings offered by HRC and that you keep your content clear and concise. You may visit www.harmreduction.org for a list of current and previous trainings offered by the Institute. The deadline for applications for the Spring 2008 Training Calendar is no later than Friday, March 14, 2008. Please submit your proposals by email to [email protected] or fax to the attention of Stephen Crowe at (212) 213-6582. *Note: This is NOT a call for submissions for the 2008 HRC Conference. You may download the application by cutting and pasting this link into your web browser if clicking on it does not work: http://www.harmreduction.org/Spring2008NYTrainingProposal We look forward to hearing from you! Best, Stephen Crowe Assistant Training Coordinator Harm Reduction Coalition

Prisons Foundation: Three upcoming events of interest (Two of them Free)

[Courtesy of Prisons Foundation] It's time to get out of the house (if you're a member of congress), or the office (if you're a justice advocate), or the street (if you're a justice activist), and start networking with like-minded movers and shakers. 1. Concert for Prison Musicians featuring Lamont Carey of "The Wire," Friday, February 22, 7pm Come to the always-jumping Potter's House,1658 Columbia Rd, NW, Washington, DC, on Friday, February 22nd, 7:30pm to 10:30pm for a benefit concert to raise funds to purchase musical instruments for prisoners. Lamont Carey of "The Wire," ex-con jazz guitarist Dennis Sobin, Jim Dugan, Joe Shade and others will perform. There is a suggested donation of $5 to $15. Prison art will also be on view and available for purchase to help raise funds. Lamont Carey is a spoken word artist and actor who spent 11 years behind bars. He has made appearances in several stage plays, films and most recently the HBO hit series "The Wire." He has appeared three times on HBO's Def Poetry show and has published a collection of his poetry entitled "Why I Keep U A Secret." Dennis Sobin spent 10 years in state and federal prisons where he learned jazz and classical guitar. After being released in 2003, he cofounded the Prisons Foundation, which promotes the arts and education in prison. An accomplished guitarist with ten CDs to his credit, Dennis recently performed at the Kennedy Center. Jim Dugan's music has been used in various soundtracks for film and television. MusicMonthly.com in a review of Jim's CD "Marigold" said it was "Great music, great songs." Joe Shade is a performing singer and songwriter whose style and proficiency have been widely acclaimed. For further information, please call 202-393-1511 2. Free Justice Sunday reception featuring Prison Legal News experts, Sunday, March 30, 2pm You are cordially invited to attend a free reception at the Prison Art Gallery, 1600 K St NW, Washington, DC (three blocks from the White House) on Sunday, March 30, 2pm, for a talk by Paul Wright, Editor of Prison Legal News, and Alex Friedmann, Associate Editor. Both are accomplished legal writers, researchers and justice advocates who are recognized experts in the fields of prisoner rights, sentencing reform, and related justice topics. There will be a question and answer period following their presentation. This is a rare opportunity to get your legal questions answered by knowledgeable professionals who closely follow the latest trends and court decisions. Paul spent more than a decade in prison, where he began publishing Prisons Legal News. A monthly news journal, it is now the pre-eminent source of information about criminal justice and prison litigation. It is circulated and used by litigants in virtually every jail and prison in America. Paul will be bringing and signing copies of his new book, Prison Profiteers, a critical look at over-incarceration in America. Don't miss this rare opportunity to gain important knowledge and understanding from two professionals in the know. Refreshments will be served. For further information, please call 202-393-1511. 3. Free Workshop to become a mentor to imprisoned artists, Saturday, May 24, 10am to 4pm Attend a Free workshop on Saturday, May 24, 10am to 4pm at the Prison Art Gallery, 1600 K Street. NW, Washington, DC to become a mentor to imprisoned artists. Learn what it takes to work in a jail or prison to foster artistic development among inmates. You'll receive information and insights from experienced correctional officials as well as accomplished ex-prisoner artists. There will be a 15-minute break at 1pm for lunch, which will be provided. This is the approximate time that many inmates get to consume their meal (though you can continue to eat your meal as the workshop continues). The free lunch provided will be typical jail fare, nourishing and balanced though not necessarily gourmet. We believe that you will find the workshop enjoyable and beneficial. Whether you're looking for a one afternoon per month volunteer opportunity in a jail or prison, or a full-time paid career position, we believe that you will find this workshop a great door opener and a way to gain important skills and understanding. For further information, please email [email protected] or call 202-393-1511.

Different lipstick, same old pig

[Courtesy of Marijuana Policy Project] 

“Different lipstick, same old pig.”

That was the title of a Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial on Monday, referring to a quote by MPP’s Neal Levine, who was artfully characterizing the unconstitutional ballot initiative law in Nevada that we’re going to overturn.

Last week, MPP and the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Nevada government to overturn its unconstitutional law, which requires signatures from voters in all of the state’s 17 counties in order to qualify a measure for the statewide ballot.

This is the second time MPP has sued the Nevada state government over the very same issue. We won in 2004, and we’re going to win this time, too, and the Nevada government is going to have to pay our legal fees in full — again.

In addition to the editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, one of the state’s biggest newspapers, a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun also weighed in on the situation.

Because MPP plans to run another ballot initiative campaign to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in Nevada in a few years, it’s vitally important that Nevada’s ballot initiative law not be overly burdensome.

The previous law we overturned in 2004 — which required signatures from voters in 13 of Nevada’s 17 counties — was correctly thrown out by a federal court as a violation of the “one man, one vote” rule. And the new law — which MPP’s Neal Levine told the Las Vegas Review-Journal was “a different shade of lipstick on the same old pig” — also violates the “one man, one vote” rule.

We’re so sure we’re going to win this lawsuit — and get our legal fees reimbursed by the incompetent Nevada government — that I’m not even going to ask you to donate money to help pay for it.

However, I hope you’ll consider joining our monthly credit card pledge program — even with just $5 or $10 per month — in order to support our other 2008 projects.

Thank you, as always, for supporting MPP’s work.

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your monthly pledge will be doubled.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) Needs Your Help

[Courtesy of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition] When you filled out your membership form to join LEAP, you expressed an interest in volunteering some time to help spread LEAP’s message- and we’re taking you up on your offer! Last month’s volunteer email response proved that many of you are willing to pitch in for LEAP. Our College Gigs letter got over 50 responses from volunteers, and resulted in a response from 6 colleges. We can beat that! Here’s what we would like you to think about this month: Talk Radio Gigs Talk radio gigs are an important part of getting LEAP’s message across to a wider audience and allow LEAP speakers to reach people that may not otherwise attend a LEAP presentation. One interview can generate a lot of attention for LEAP and jumpstart a media campaign by tapping into unlimited availability of radio publicity. And that one interview can reach an audience of thousands. There is potential for tremendous exposure, through both traditional and Internet radio stations. Another great feature of radio is that the interviewee has more control over the content of the interview than in television or print. Repetition is hugely important in radio, and the LEAP website can be plugged several times in one appearance. Talk radio gigs are easy to book if you sell them the right way. In fact, it is easier to get booked on the radio than on any other media venue. Radio talk shows need content every day, so they’re constantly looking for authorities on different subjects the listening audience would like to hear more about. The best way to start is to focus on news/political shows, and visit each station’s website, to familiarize yourself with the station and its overall personality. The best results come from the best preparation. Once you have found the stations in your area that would be best suited to host a LEAP speaker, the first step in making contact is to understand the setup of a typical talk radio show: the important people to know are the producer, host, program director and news director. The producer is the person you will most likely be approaching initially. In your phone call or email, explain what LEAP is all about, but get to the point- fast. If you’re sending an email, the subject line should be crafted to catch the person’s attention quickly. For example, “LEAP Speaker Available for Interview” is not an especially attention-grabbing headline, but “Provocative Guest For Your Noon Radio Show”, “Local Bust Calls For Provocative Guest With A Different Perspective”, “Cops Call For Change In America’s Longest War”, and “Why Would A Cop Say That?” are much more eye-catching. The last four subject lines aim to intrigue the producer, and also pertain to topical information/current events. Please avoid using the word ‘drugs’ in the subject line, as this is a typical SPAM filter word that may eliminate your email from the person’s inbox. Another highly effective way to get the producer’s attention is to tie LEAP’s message to a current news story and how it relates to the harm caused by drug prohibition. For example, a local drug bust gone awry, the local area’s problem with controlling a specific drug (crack epidemic, meth labs, etc.), or even the waste of American tax dollars on an ineffective and harmful policy. Please let me know if you would be interested in helping LEAP by contacting radio stations in your area… Thank you, Kristin Kristin Daley LEAP Projects Manager [email protected]

Thanks to a major grant we received, you can become a mentor to imprisoned artists

[Courtesy of Prison Art Gallery] Thanks to a grant we received from the DC Government, you can become a mentor to imprisoned artists. Work either as a volunteer or paid staff member in a jail or prison. Attend one of our upcoming one-day workshops to learn what it takes to work in a jail or prison to foster artistic development among inmates. You'll receive valuable training from experienced and effective correctional officials while also benefiting from the insights and knowledge of ex-prisoner artists who will be additional workshop leaders. They will all share their experiences with you in a relaxed and fun setting at the Prison Art Gallery in downtown Washington, DC. Everything you need for a productive and nourishing day will be provided. This is a rare opportunity to make contacts and obtain important information. And it's absolutely free! Whether you're looking for a one afternoon per month volunteer opportunity or a full-time paid career position, you will find these workshops a great door opener. Meet the people who make hiring decisions while finding out what it takes to be effective in the challenging setting of a jail or prison. Please call us at 202-393-1511 or email us at [email protected] for more information. We are now setting up a schedule of workshops to accommodate everyone who may be interested. We would like to what days and times would work best for you. Thank you.

1st Global Conference on Methamphetamine: Registration Now Open

1st Global Conference on Methamphetamine: Science, Strategy and Response - Prague 2008 The 1st Global Conference on Methamphetamine: Science, Strategy and Response, will take place in Prague on September 15th and 16th 2008. The main conference will be held at Prague's historic Charles University. The primary objective of the conference is to bring together scientist, world leaders and professionals to discuss the intersection between methamphetamine use, public health, law enforcement and civil society. For information regarding registration, call for abstracts, exhibiting, sponsorship, travel and hotel accomodations, please visit: www.globalmethconference.com or email [email protected] About Prague Prague's magical city of bridges, cathedrals, gold-tipped towers and church domes, has been mirrored in the surface of the swan-filled Vitava River for more than ten centuries. Undamaged by WWII, Prague's compact medieval centre remains a wonderful mixture of cobbled lanes, walled courtyards, cathedrals and countless church spires all in the shadow of the majestic 9th century castle that looks eastwards as the sun sets behind her. Prague is also a modern and vibrant city full of energy, music, cultural art, fine dining and special events catering to the independent traveler's thirst for adventure. Regarded by many as one of Europes most charming and beautiful cities, Prague has become the most popular travel destination in Central Europe. The conference partners would like to thank the City of Prague for supporting this event. Partners: Weave Consulting, Podane Ruce, Cranstoun Drug Services, COCA, Sananim, SCAN, Charles University & The Harm Reduction Project t. 44 (0) 208 987 6021 f. 44 (0) 208 994 1533 c/o Weave Consulting, 10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH Company registered in the UK 5658749

Minnesota: Second Chance Day on the Hill

[Courtesy of Second Chance Day on the Hill] Greetings, On February 13, 2008 in the Rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol between the hours of 11:00 and 12:00, large numbers of people will converge for the first ever "Second Chance Day on the Hill." In Minnesota, our prison population has increased by over 45% in the past five years. 6,000 people per year leave corrections and return to their communities. They cannot find jobs at a living wage. They have great difficulties finding affordable and adequate housing. They are ineligibile for Financial Aid to go to school and for many other basic services. Representative Michael Paymar, Senator Julianne Ortman, Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson (Former Chair, ABA Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions), Dan Cain (RS Eden, former MN Sentencing Guidelines Commissioner), Les Green (SCSU, former Parole Board Commissioner), and our good friend, Sue Watlov-Phillips (Co-founder of the National Coalition for the Homeless, ED of Project Elim) will be amongst those speaking--full slate attached. We have one of the best corrections systems in the United States, yet I submit that if we continue to increase the number of incarcerated at the current levels, the system will break...as it has in 5 other States where, according to a recent study by the Justice Policy Centers, the budget for Corrections exceeded the budget for Education. Whether you are driven to the table via work on; Racial justice: (3.5% of our citizens are Black, yet they form 35% of our prison population; Natives 1%, with over 7% of the incarcerated); Homelessness: Wilder's last survey noted a 30%+ increase in the number of those without housing (of our 20,000+ homeless) who cited criminal records as a barrier to sustainabilty. Mental Health: We have become the "New Bedlam" after the infamous hospital in 19th century England where the mentally ill were indiscriminately housed with predatory offenders. In a city (Minneapolis) where a schizophrenic panhandler who was homeless was arrested 47 times...how was his behavior corrected? Answer: It wasn't. Veterans: In 1998 there were over 221,000 veterans in prison and Jail in the USA, and now we have over 200,000 on the streets, homeless. As our young women and men fight and die in Iraq and Afghanistan they fight for Democracy and Freedom in the name of a nation that imprisons more of its own citizens than any nation on the face of the earth. No matter who you are, surely you see the problem in that set of statistics. The Chemically Dependant: Since 1980, the number of those in prison for non-violent offenses in the US has increased 600%. Our corrections budgets exceed the costs of the current conflicts in the Middle East. In the words of Justice Kennedy (paraphrased) in his 2002 to the ABA Hall of delegates, "I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that an 18 year old sentenced to 10 years in prison cannot conceive of what 10 years means." How does a jail cell "fix" an addiction? Members of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession: Surely, you must see this series of problems more clearly than all of us...the endless chain of men and women in their 20s who mull through the dockets day after day, year after year...in time, perhaps, they (we) become just numbers. Surely, what you see each day must strike you as an impossible equation to carry out for another 25 years. This day is a day for all of us. It is the chance to turn back the tide and NOT end up like Illinois, with 47 prisons and 30,000 inmates in re-entry each year. Or, Wisconsin, with 32 prisons. My grandfather was a physician at the Mayo Clinic. My Dad a College professor for 37 years. I, like so many of us in the 70s, strayed. I've been a soldier, a homeless veteran, a teacher and a social worker. I've come to see and understand the need for Second Chances. Once, we believed in and took pride in being the State that treated those who were ill...now we lock them up. Surely, this situation is not tenable for much longer and I think we all sense that. Join us for this event. It is one last chance for us to pause and ask, "Is this really what we want for our children, for the next generation?" Surely, we were meant to be so much more. Guy Gambill Community Organizer Second Chance Day on the Hill (612)-208-1815 (612)-644-4817
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